Ardrossan Community Sports Hub & Fitness Centre is a proud, registered Duke of Edinburgh provider.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) develops young people for life and work. It helps them to fulfil their potential and have a brighter future. For many young people, the impact can be life changing.
There are 3 progressive levels of programmes leading to a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
Bronze starts the school year in which they turn 14.
Silver starts the school year in which they turn 15.
Gold starts at 16+ years old.
To achieve their DofE Award, young people complete their own programme of activities in these sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills & Expedition.
Participants keep track of their progress and get their Awards approved by their leaders through our online record-keeping system, eDofE.
The DofE has already helped millions of young people to learn, grow and stand out from the crowd in college, university and job applications.
What is it?
A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers.
The DofE is many things to many people, supporting generations to successfully navigate adult life.
Any young person can do their DofE – regardless of ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an Award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries.
Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and uni and job applications.
Why do it?
For the hundreds of thousands of young people who take part each year, the benefits of achieving a DofE Award at any level are endless. DofE is about helping you along the path to a productive and prosperous future. As many of our participants say, it’s life-changing.
Achieving an Award will give you skills, confidence and an edge over others when you apply for college, university or a job. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of so called ‘soft skills’ that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Your DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.
You’ll also make a difference to other people’s lives and your community, be fitter and healthier, make new friends and have memories to last you a lifetime.
Our participants also tell us that doing their DofE gives them character traits like confidence and resilience, that can boost their mental health and wellbeing and help them face and overcome personal challenges.
From those who have done it
If it wasn’t for DofE I wouldn’t be a major part of LYC (Lambeth Youth Council). I would have never pushed myself to lead a campaign or have been given the opportunity to speak at the rally of the Women’s March. I wouldn’t have considered it possible. DofE showed me what I was capable of.”
I’d always wanted to go into law but thought that it wouldn’t be possible because of the area I live in, because of the way that I talk but I now feel like I can do law, I can go to the college that I want to go to, DofE has given me the confidence that there’s nothing to stop me from doing what I want to do.